You can miss this guy if you don’t look carefully, but doing so can be disastrous to your fruit.
I was tending to my tomatoes yesterday when I spotted it, the dreaded tomato hornworm. You have to look really closely or you will miss it. It blends perfectly with the plants and at first glance it seems rather harmless. Looks can be deceiving. It can wreak havoc on a tomato plant in record time.
Lush and healthy plants can go to leafless stalks in no time flat.
These pests feed constantly, eating everything in their path including the leaves and fruit. The only way to keep the plant safe is constant vigilance. Once you spot the first one, you have to constantly look for more. The best way to control them is to crush them.
That tomato worm reminded me of the enemy that Christians face daily. He too, can camouflage himself and blend right in, looking rather harmless. Things like skipping church to sleep in seem like no big deal on the surface. Sure, we all get tired and need a break, but when we aren’t careful, very rarely, becomes twice a month and we have cut our regular worship in half.
When we do things to tear down others instead of building them up, like participating in gossip, we leave a crack for a worm to slip through. When we allow ourselves to become focused on the negatives in our lives instead of the abundant blessings, we can leave room for discontent and out of that, leave a foothold for the enemy.
I believe that Satan’s attacks on us are often worm like, subtle and slow, but still inflicting serious damage. But, just like that tomato worm, his attacks can be halted too. Just like controlling the tomato worm, we have to be vigilant.
We have to be in regular prayer about situations which can harm our souls. We can ask for wisdom and discernment. The Bible tells us God will give it to us. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
We can also read the Bible. God’s word is truly the best way to keep the soul worms out. It’s like super pest control.
Another great way to help us keep out the soul worms is surrounding ourselves with other strong believers who will help us keep watch.
When we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, we can produce some amazing fruit. We just need to keep in mind that there is an enemy who would love to destroy it. But, thankfully, we have been given all we need to crush him beneath our feet, just like that pesky tomato worm.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂